Galloway and his wife were returning from Moscow, via Abu Dhabi, when counter terror officers swooped and detained them at the airport
George Galloway has been detained under the Terrorism act on his way back from Moscow, it has been reported.
Met Terror officers held the ex-MP as he arrived at Gatwick Airport today with his wife.
The pair had returned to the UK on a flight from Abu Dhabi, having initially travelled from Moscow.
Police have confirmed a man and woman were detained, but not arrested, and have since been allowed to continue on their journeys.
A Met spokesperson said: “We can confirm that on Saturday, 27 September counter terrorism officers at Gatwick Airport stopped a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s under Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
“Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way.”
Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act allows police to stop, question, detain and search a person at points of entry to the UK to determine whether they appear to be or have been engaged in “hostile activity.”
After having been ousted at the 2024 election, Galloway has since announced he plans to stand for the Scottish Parliament in Nicola Sturgeon’s seat of Glasgow Southside.
The Workers Party of Britain, which Galloway leads, branded the arrest “politically motivated intimidation.”
They wrote: “At 11am we were informed by police officers in Gatwick that our party leader George Galloway and his wife have been detained at the airport.
“The police agreed that they would pass a message to our comrades from us and pass back a reply from them.
“Despite repeated attempts to gather further information, and despite repeated calls to the police, we have no further information on their wellbeing, nor on the observation of their Rights.
“There is no information on charges or alleged offences. Therefore we may conclude this is politically motivated intimidation.
“We call on all supporters and friends to amplify this message and demand the IMMEDIATE RELEASE of our leaders.”